“Breakfast is the only meal of the day that I tend to view with the same kind of traditionalized reverence that most people associate with Lunch and Dinner. I like to eat breakfast alone, and almost never before noon; anybody with a terminally jangled lifestyle needs at least one psychic anchor every twenty-four hours, and mine is breakfast. In Hong Kong, Dallas or at home — and regardless of whether or not I have been to bed — breakfast is a personal ritual that can only be properly observed alone, and in a spirit of genuine excess. The food factor should always be massive: four Bloody Marys, two grapefruits, a pot of coffee, Rangoon crepes, a half-pound of either sausage, bacon, or corned beef hash with diced chiles, a Spanish omelette or eggs Benedict, a quart of milk, a chopped lemon for random seasoning, and something like a slice of Key lime pie, two margaritas, and six lines of the best cocaine for dessert… Right, and there should also be two or three newspapers, all mail and messages, a telephone, a notebook for planning the next twenty-four hours and at least one source of good music… All of which should be dealt with outside, in the warmth of a hot sun, and preferably stone naked.”—Hunter S. Thompson

For a closer look of the above, check out the SEM (and reddened?) version.
Delving into more things that I don’t understand but think are awesome: chaotic maps (the higher the dimension, the better!).
But of course that leads to fractals and chaos theory, which are even more awesome.
And a new Google Lab for exploring fractals that is sure to crash your browser.
But the real purpose of this post is to say that I dislike broccoli and cauliflower– they smell bad and are too voluminous vegetables.

How bakeries make croissants. I’ve done this (croissants and cinnamon rolls) on a small scale before, but the efficiency and neatness that this baker displays is amazing. I remember I made a mess and added too much flour to the dough because I didn’t work quickly enough.
[via reddit]

The Geometry of Pasta shapes grid provides stylized visual information about a variety of pastas along with several recipes. The whole website is the online presence of a cookbook. The images aren’t too helpful, but at least you can pretend to speak Italian after learning a few of the pasta names.

I have an ongoing argument with my family about whether or not spiciness is actually a flavor/spice. I don’t think it is.

Perhaps we seek out the painful experience of snacking on chillies while consciously maintaining awareness that there is no real danger to ourselves … it is this cognitive mismatch itself that provides the thrill: … the burn of capsaicin only seems to be threatening.

This is my opinion of why people like spiciness, and I think it has some roundabout evolutionary answer as well.
The Guardian World News
via Why do we eat chilli?.